Local artists Tom Ferraro and Ed Grout, in May, unveiled a 20-foot-high mural titled "I am ... I will be ... Erie's future" affixed to the former Palace Hardware building in the 900 block of State Street.

The Erie Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit that serves a 70-block area from Sassafras to Holland Streets, between the bayfront and 14th Street, commissioned the mural as part of its plan to create and display more public art downtown — a key recommendation in the Downtown Partnership's multiyear master plan for enhancements in downtown Erie.

To create the mural, which celebrates Erie's diversity and heritage, Ferraro and Grout connected with the International Institute of Erie and worked with more than 65 new Americans now living in Erie, as well as roughly 300 English as a Second Language students from Erie High School.

Additional murals and art projects are planned in other areas of Erie's downtown, including Perry Square.

"I think public art can spark an interest in a community and make it reflect on where it is and where it wants to go," said Ferraro, 64, who has created other public murals, sculptures and artworks in Erie. "It takes art out of museums and galleries and makes it more accessible for people.

"In this case, I think public art opened that space up and made it something that the property owners, the neighbors and the businesses or anyone who goes downtown can appreciate. A kind of pocket park opened up in the vacant space next to the (mural) and now I see people enjoying it and playing music there sometimes," Ferraro said. "It shows that we as a city think these kinds of things are important. We need that kind of collective vision as a city."

John Buchna, the Erie Downtown Partnership's executive director, said the mural project is one example of how the Downtown Partnership continues to work on myriad recommendations outlined in its master plan in conjunction with Erie Mayor Joe Schember's administration and other local groups.

That message will be conveyed at the Downtown Partnership's upcoming annual meeting, scheduled for Feb. 27 at the Bayfront Convention Center. Property owners within the downtown partnership's coverage area support the organization with an assessment based on property value, as well as membership fees.

"We want people to know there are a lot of projects that have been completed, that are underway or are planned, and we're working very closely with our partners to bring more improvements and resources downtown," Buchna said. "All of our missions are very much aligned."

"Being downtown and being on State Street is great. There is so much going on and so many young professionals down here," said Filsinger, a baker and artist for Cake Zen, a specialty dessert and cake shop located at 1001 State St. that opened in September.

"I feel like a lot of (groups) are making a big impact," Filsinger said. "I learn something new every day about what's happening downtown."

Downtown plans

Unveiled in 2016, the downtown plan's recommendations include creating and linking four distinct downtown districts, each with its own character, function, target markets and design; improvements to the physical environment downtown; housing upgrades; economic development involving the arts, offices, technology and tourism; transportation improvements, and more aggressive marketing of downtown.

"We've already done some of those things, and more are coming in 2019 and beyond," Buchna said.

The downtown plan was completed by CMK Planning at a cost of $52,000, funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority.

Some of the plan's recommendations that have been implemented, in addition to public art projects, include:

•Creating four distinct districts downtown — Bayfront, Perry Square, Renaissance and Union Square. Each district has established C.A.R.E. captains who lead a team of volunteers who work with the Downtown Partnership on improvements and other projects focused on keeping downtown Erie safe, clean and enjoyable for visitors and those who work in the area.

•Moving the Downtown Partnership's popular block parties, which take place on some Thursday evenings during the summer, to public parks/publicly-owned spaces, such as Griswold Park and Perry Square.

•Streetscape and landscaping improvements throughout downtown, such as the gateway garden near the federal courthouse and Perry Square. That garden and others in the park are planted and maintained by the nonprofit Perry Square Alliance, with ErieBank as a financial sponsor.

Buchna said several other recommendations are in the works.

Those include continued facade and building improvements for downtown businesses; expansion of the Downtown Partnership's security camera grant program, which provides matching grants to businesses to install exterior security cameras; and pedestrian and bicycle-friendly gateways have been proposed at Fourth, Eighth and 12th streets along State Street, at East Sixth and Holland streets, and at West Sixth and Sassafras streets.

The gateways will be designed to help create a sense of place in each downtown neighborhood. Those gateways could include archways, benches or other elements.

Buchna also noted that the Downtown Partnership is working with former Erie City Councilman and architect David Brennan and Todd Scalise, owner of Erie-based Higherglyphics, on a plan to rehab four Erie railroad underpasses on Peach, State, Sassafras and French streets.

Based on similar efforts in Birmingham, Alabama, and other cities, the project would address structural issues with each underpass. It would also add landscaping, themed art and colored LED light displays along the pedestrian walkways.

Buchna and others said many of the downtown plan's suggestions align on purpose with Erie Refocused, the city's multiyear comprehensive development plan, as well as ongoing efforts by the Erie Downtown Development Corp. — a group founded by local business and community leaders — to purchase and renovate downtown real estate, attract new businesses and program events in an area between Third and Sixth streets, from Sassafras to Holland streets.

The EDDC has contributed more than $27 million of its own money toward downtown redevelopment efforts.

"Our downtown plan is fully ingrained in the Erie Refocused plan and what the EDDC is doing," Buchna said. "How do we work with these other partners to fully activate downtown? We've always had a need for more economic development downtown, and that's a big part of what the EDDC is doing.

"And Erie Refocused takes our downtown plan into account," Buchna said. "We met with the city when they were putting Erie Refocused together and a lot of that plan's priorities are things from our downtown plan."

'Building on each other'

Kathy Wyrosdick, the city's planning director, agreed. She said Erie Refocused made downtown development a priority, and endorsed many of the improvements that Buchna referenced.

"Moving forward, it makes sense now that we have a comprehensive plan at City Hall that one of our roles would be to pull together other initiatives that are moving forward and work together on them," Wyrosdick said. "Let's bring parties together and talk about what the priorities are and make sure we're all working together as best as we can."

Wyrosdick said that improved communication between city officials and all of the groups working on local improvement plans has helped.

"There's a high level of collaboration," Wyrosdick said. "We're asking others to participate in the conversation at a much earlier time, and that makes a difference."

John Persinger, the EDDC's chief executive, said his organization's chief mission is infusing "private-sector money into downtown to acquire and redevelop property," and that fits the downtown plan's goals.

"It's a piece that was missing, and it's absolutely a good fit," Persinger said. "All of these plans, and what we're doing, are building on each other. When you add them together, they create a great vision for the future of the region.

Persinger, who plans to attend the Downtown Partnership's annual meeting on Feb. 27, said he's encouraged by the momentum he sees downtown.

"Obviously we still have a lot of work ahead. You don't turn around 60 years of economic and population decline overnight," Persinger said. "We as a community have to keep that in mind and keep working hard."

Kevin Flowers can be reached at 870-1693 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNflowers.

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